Ywam said he was “deeply sorry” after the observer published a report in which former members allegedly allegedly strict controls and spiritual abuses.
Former Ywamers have described training sessions as “very focused on shame” and said they felt ashamed of behaviors deemed unacceptable by their leaders, such as using a Christian meeting or, in the case of women, wearing certain clothes.
An ex-Ywamer said that her experience in leadership training had been “enough controlling” and that she had been subject to pressure so as not to attend her grandmother’s funeral because she coincided with a religious service.
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The former missionaries described participation in long public repentance sessions for perceived moral transgressions. There were also “healing” accounts or “launching” sessions to banish demons and face “deep sin” such as homosexual thoughts or sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage.
“We have” prayed “all demons and sins and asked God to forgive them and remake them whole,” said an ex-ywame.
While some have found the cathartic of the “night of testimonies”, others have described feeling in a hurry to confess guilty thoughts.
The report is based on the accounts of 21 current and old ywamers covering the last 20 years and in 18 countries.
Responding to the report, Ywam said: “We are deeply sorry to anyone who has suffered damage by being part of Ywam. No one should undergo spiritual abuse, coercion or psychological distress in a denominational community.
“We do not condemn any form of coercive or shameful group practices unequivocally, including public confession sessions that have been reported in certain places YWAM. Although personal confession is part of Christian practice, it should always be voluntary and respectful.
“Any practice that puts pressure on individuals to disclose trauma or to be shame publicly. We do not tolerate” healing criteria “which harm or do not stigmatize, and they have no place in Ywam England.”
He continued by saying that he does not tolerate “no practice that results in humiliation, exclusion or internalized shame”.
“We are afflicted by relationships of individuals who believed that their identity was treated as sinner or demonic, and we examine how our teachings are expressed to ensure that they reflect compassion, truth and love,” he said.
This article was initially published by Christian TODAY
